BBC Local Live: Lancashire

Five Lancashire servicemen lost their lives during the Iraq War.

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• Sergeant John Battersby from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment 
• Signaller Paul Didsbury from Blackpool
• Private Kevin Thompson from Lancaster
• Gunner Lee Thornton from Blackpool
• Gunner Stephen Wright from Leyland

They were among 179 UK men and women killed in a campaign that followed the invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003.

The six-year British military mission came to an end in April 2009.  

The former Blackburn MP, Jack Straw, has said "clear lessons" must be learned from Sir John Chilcot's report into the Iraq war.

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Mr Straw, who was foreign secretary at the start of the conflict in 2003, said: "With the benefit of hindsight, different decisions would have been made on Iraq, and the inquiry sets out the clear lessons which need to be learnt." 

He told the Iraq inquiry how he had agonised over going to war and says he takes "full responsibility for the decisions he made".

A court has heard how the DNA of a Lancashire businesswoman was found at the home of her alleged killer.

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Blood from 60-year-old Sadie Hartley was also found in the car of Sarah Williams, who is accused of killing Ms Hartley at her home in Helmshore, Rossendale, the prosecution said.

Ms Williams' co-accused, Katrina Walsh, told police she was "petrified" of her friend. 

The pair deny murder and the trial continues.

• The trial of two women accused of the 'demonic' murder of a Lancashire businesswoman is told how her DNA was found in the car of her alleged killer
• Former Blackburn MP Jack Straw says, in hindsight, different decisions would have been taken on the Iraq war, following a detailed report
• Two Lancashire brickwork plants could be mothballed for a second time, putting more than 60 jobs at risk

Plans to mothball two brickworks in Lancashire are "deeply concerning", a council leader has said.

Forterra which owns the plants in Accrington and Claughton near Lancaster is planning to close the sites temporarily due to the "current economic uncertainty", putting more than 60 jobs at risk.

Hyndburn Council leader Miles Parkinson said: "We have to engage with the company and with the government to see how both can come together to make sure we do have a long-term brick manufacturer in Accrington."

A trawler skipper who admitted sailing while over the alcohol limit after it ran aground in the River Wyre has been given a suspended sentence. 

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Michael Maceachern, 45, from York, was arrested following a breath test after the 60-tonne boat, the Corentine, was grounded in the early hours of 7 June, Preston Crown Court heard.

Fleetwood Inshore Lifeboat and the Fleetwood Coastguard rescued five men from the vessel, HM Coastguard said.

Maceachern admitted being on duty while over the prescribed limit of alcohol and was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for 18 months.

It will remain mostly dry, except for perhaps the odd spell of rain during the afternoon.

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An off-licence boss banned from driving was caught when he dashed to an emergency at his shop and pulled up behind the police in a horsebox, a court heard.

Accrington Stanley boss, John Coleman, has admitted he feared he would not have time to build a new squad following last season's play-off defeat in League Two.

Coleman has recruited six new players during the summer - including West Brom defender Callam Jones.

"We had a bit of an exodus and you start to worry that you're not going to replace them in time for pre-season.

"But we're a work in progress and we've got the basis of our squad now."

Two brickwork plants in Lancashire could be mothballed for a second time - putting more than 60 jobs at risk.

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Forterra has previously closed its factories in Accrington and Claughton near Lancaster between 2010 and 2014.

The firm cited "current economic uncertainty" in its trading update and said temporarily closing the Lancashire plants would be "prudent".

The plans are under consultation. The leader of Hyndburn Council Miles Parkinson and unions GMB and Unite are calling on the government to help with the brick industry.

• The report into the Iraq war in which five Lancashire soldiers died concludes the government chose to join the 2003 invasion before all peaceful options had been exhausted

• Two brickwork plants in Lancashire could be mothballed for a second time - putting more than 60 jobs at risk
• A motorcyclist who died in a crash in Preston at the weekend is named

A campaigner has said a decision to recommend a new treatment for prostate cancer is "encouraging" news for patients.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has approved the drug Degarelix for men who have advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer. 

The chairman of Leighton Hospital Prostate Cancer Support group, Gary Steele, said: "It's another armoury part against prostate cancer that is advanced and this is really encouraging."

More than a dozen Lancashire police officers subjected to misconduct proceedings left the force before their case was heard, new figures show.

A fire at a derelict church in Bacup is being treated as a suspected arson attack by police.

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Firefighers tackled the blaze at the former St Saviour's Church in New Line from about 07:15.

The fire started on a balcony inside the church, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said.

• The grandfather of a soldier killed in the Iraq war in 2006 says he fears there will be a "cover up" when the long-awaited Chilcot Report is published this morning
• The chairman of a support group welcomes the decision to approve a new drug for men who have advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer
• A fire at a derelict church in Bacup is being investigated by police

The author of a book based on the history of Britain's role in the Iraq war has said families have been "driven by the desire" to get answers about the Iraq war.

Sir John Chilcot led the inquiry into the Iraq war and the findings are due to be published later.

Lancaster-based author of Operation Telic, Tim Ripley,  said: "The people on the receiving end feel bitter they've never had proper answers when they asked about how their relatives died.

"They didn't feel they were being told the truth so that has driven the desire to get to the bottom of what went on."

A head teacher has said it is important to teach youngsters about valuable life skills, such as cooking.

A new report has revealed only a third of children are learning to cook in school despite government guidelines.  

"We make sure all children gain some access to cooking," Beverley Melvin from Great Eccleston CofE Primary School said.

Lancashire's Neil Wagner believes he is leaving behind a team in the right hands.

The seam bowler, who has taken 32 Championship wickets this season, is playing his final game for the Red Rose county before returning to international duty with New Zealand.

He is certain coaches Ashley Giles and Glen Chapple offer the "right support structure" to the players.